In the computer industry, customers would like to know which components of hardware, firmware, software, etc. will work well together. Accordingly, most vendors test and certify the compatibility of their products. For example, independent software vendors (ISVs) and independent hardware vendors (IHVs) will certify which of their specific products ate compatible with a particular version of an operating system or version of software. Typically, the certification process involves running a suite of tests on one or more computer systems that include the product to be certified.
Typically, hardware vendors (particularly major hardware vendors such as Hewlett Packard, EMC, Dell, IBM, etc.) perform extensive testing of their hardware before production. In order to obtain a certification, most vendors are provided a specific test suite from a certifying body. For example, a software provider, such as Microsoft, typically administers a significant hardware certification program for its vendors. In order to obtain certification status with Microsoft and its products, a hardware vendor must utilize the test suite provided from Microsoft. Other organizations, such as Sun Microsystems, and Novell, have similar programs that specify a test suite for certification.
Unfortunately, the running of these tests is time consuming and labor intensive, and often is redundant existing testing processes of other vendors, such as the ISV that sells software for a component of hardware. In addition, it is very difficult to maintain and apply the complicated test suites provided by certifying agents, such as Microsoft, and the like.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to streamline and simplify the certification and testing process required from the various hardware vendors. In addition, it would be desirable to enable fast certification of hardware without compromising quality.